State Rep. Tony Shipley helps man after seizure at downtown hotel

When a Dallas man who was in town for his company’s national sales meeting had a seizure at a downtown hotel Wednesday evening, a state legislator took charge of the situation until the Nashville Fire Department arrived.

Max Carter, a vice president of Franklin-based Passport Health Communications Inc., said state Rep. Tony Shipley, a Kingsport Republican with training as a paramedic, may have saved the life of a 34-year-old Passport employee. Carter wrote in an email that he and two other employees managed to catch their co-worker before he hit the ground, but they weren’t sure what else to do besides calling 911 and turning him on his side so he wouldn’t choke.

“As a result of Representative Shipley’s quick action what could have been a truly horrible situation was averted,” Carter wrote. “Moreover, in a time when many healthcare professionals, and just people in general, are afraid to assist in similar situations due to fear of lawsuits, etc, I thought Mr. Shipley’s actions should be noted. I have no idea what his training or background is but he was relaying vitals to 911 like a pro and telling us exactly what to do.”

Carter, who lives in Robertson County, wrote that he didn’t know anything about Shipley, who “quickly dismissed” Carter’s thanks, said he was happy to help and offered his business card.

Shipley, who said he was drinking with friends at the hotel’s bar when he saw the man on the ground, called his assistance “no big deal.” Without his medical “tools,” he said, he went into “first aid mode.”

“It was obvious what it was,” he said. “It’s just a matter of keeping the airway open until he goes through the seizure.”

Shipley, 58, is retired from the United States Air Force and said he has been a paramedic since 1998 or 1999. He’s in his second term in the House.